Rhys ap Gruffydd

Rhys ap Gruffydd (rēs äp grĭfˈĭħ) [key], 1132?–1197, ruler of South Wales and, after the death (1170) of Owain Gwynedd, leader of the Welsh princes. The failure (1165) of the English troops under Henry II in Wales and Henry's later domestic troubles contributed to Rhys's power. In 1171 he signed a pact with Henry, and he helped the king suppress the rebellion of 1173–74. After Henry's death, however, Rhys revolted against the absent Richard I. The first recorded eisteddfod was held by Rhys in Cardigan in 1176.